Poured concrete is frequently used to form building walls, retaining walls, and other structural members. The traditional method of forming a poured concrete wall is to initially construct a pair of spaced, parallel reinforced forms, either of plywood or metal, and the concrete is then poured into the cavity or space between the forms. While the normal poured concrete wall is suitable for structural components, it lacks an attractive appearance when used for retaining walls, or the outer wall of buildings.
To provide a textured surface for a poured concrete wall and improve the appearance, it has been usual to line the inner surface of the form with patterns, so that the outer surface of the poured wall has a textured or patterned appearance. Frequently the textured surface is then painted or colored to provide it with a more natural tone. This method of forming textured surfaces on poured concrete walls is expensive, for it requires the application of the textured veneer pattern and can also require the application of paint, or coloring to the textured surface.